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List of Modern Family characters

Cast of Modern Family at the 69th Annual Golden Globes Awards in 2012.

Modern Family, an American TV comedy series, revolves around three families that are interrelated through Jay Pritchett, his son Mitchell Pritchett, and his daughter Claire Dunphy. The families meet for family functions, around the neighborhood, and cross-family bonding.

Philip Humphrey "Phil" Dunphy (Ty Burrell) is Claire's husband of 25 years who sees himself as the "cool dad."[1] He dotes on his wife Claire and constantly tries to find ways to bond with his three kids.[1] He is seen as very competitive, one example being his nature of always beating his son at basketball. He has a very juvenile attitude, and is referred to by Claire as the "kid [she's] married to." He uses a parenting method that he calls "peerenting", which is a combination of talking like a peer but acting like a parent.[1]

Ty Burrell portrays Phil Dunphy, the father of three children and Claire's husband

Phil is a real estate agent who is very confident in his work, once saying "I could sell a fur coat to an Eskimo."[1] Phil has a severe case of coulrophobia, which is first revealed when despite Mitchell's objection, Cameron comes to Luke's party dressed as a clown. This may stem from Phil's having found a dead clown in the woods when he was a child. Phil appears to love home repair yet never seems to get around to any of the jobs requested by Claire. Throughout season 1, his ongoing project is fixing the step. He at times shows a sort of crush-like affection for Gloria. He says, however, he "would never stray from Claire," although Gloria did kiss him during a "kisscam" segment at a basketball game in the final episode of season 1, "Family Portrait". He is also staring at her when she does something that makes Phil think she is sexy.[1] In college, he was a cheerleader at Fresno State and his birthday is on April 3.[2]

Phil seems oblivious as to what he says by miscalculating (if at all) the consequences of his expressions, such as "Phil Dunphy is no straight guy" (when he is referring to not being a straight man)[3] or "If you ain't white, you ain't right" (referring to the color of a team that he was playing on).[4] He is often looking for approval from Jay because Jay generally does not openly show approval of anyone, often causing Phil to fear for his approval in Jay's eyes. Phil is always reminding Jay of when he fixed his wireless printer, trying to show Jay that he can be manly. In the season 3 episode "Dude Ranch", Phil shows considerable skill both on horseback and with a shotgun.

In moments of acute adversity or shock in which most people would curse or swear, Phil utters humorous exclamations: references to food such as, "Sweet Potato Fries!" or "Chicken in a basket!", etc. or he might make a historical reference such as "John Philip Sousa!". It is revealed in "Tableau Vivant" that Phil had once tried to break up with Claire but didn't have the courage to do so.

A running gag in the show has Phil is running up the stairs (often when carrying an object) and tripping on a loose step, which causes him to quickly and hastily say: "Gotta fix that step!"

Ty Burrell had received many positive reviews for his performance. Hank Stuever from the Washington Post wrote, "A standout performance from Ty Burrell's new twist on the doofus-dad stereotype."[5] Paige Wiser, a reporter for the Chicago Sun Times, wrote, "Ty Burrell is a genius as a dad who stays hip by keeping up with the numbers from High School Musical."[6] Robert Canning of IGN in a review of the season loved Ty Burrell's performance of Phil Dunphy and named him one of two characters that stood out to him saying "actor Ty Burrell owned this part, and his well-intended faux pas throughout the season were stellar."[7]

On May 4, 2016, Phil appeared in the first commercials for the National Association of Realtors telling about his "Phil's-osophies". Arnold Worldwide executive creative director Sean McBride said Phil was written as a Realtor on his show and "embodies many of the attributes that are important in a Realtor: He's honest, he's helpful, he's sincere."[8]

Claire Melinda Dunphy (Julie Bowen), née Pritchett, is the wife of Phil Dunphy, the daughter of Jay, Mitchell's older sister, Gloria's step-daughter, Manny's step-sister, Joe's half-sister and the helicoptersoccer mom of the Dunphy family and its three very different kids.[9] She was once a wild child who made a lot of mistakes over the years, and she is fearful that her children could make the same mistakes, especially her oldest daughter, Haley. She is often exhausted from stress created by her family but is still a loving mother.[9] When it comes to her kids she has difficulty controlling Haley's independence and irresponsibility, Alex's manipulative nature, and Luke's lack of common sense.[9] She also gets annoyed with her husband, Phil, constantly.

Julie Bowen portrays Claire Dunphy, the mother of three and Phil's wife

Claire is very competitive especially in her obsession of being right, much like her husband, and has a brittle personality that causes her to get angry, paranoid, and freak out easily. She is very strict about a clean house. She is seen as an experienced parent by Cameron and Mitchell, so she is called upon for her parenting advice. She enjoys running and reading. She is also very attached to Halloween and describes it as her "crazy lady holiday". In the episode "Open House of Horrors" it is revealed that the neighbors are frightened of Claire's very graphic and realistic decorations around the house. Claire is also the most active family member when organizing family get-togethers. When a former co-worker (Minnie Driver) visits, it is revealed that Claire had a successful job in hospitality management but left her job and married Phil a few months after she became pregnant with Haley. She shows resentment towards the abandonment of her working career due to seeing the success of one of her former peers, but later realizes her family is more important.[10]

Claire is a perfectionist; according to Phil, "when everybody else sees something beautiful, all she sees is the teeny-tiny flaw." She is also terrible at giving gifts. As her husband Phil once bought her a bracelet for their anniversary, she made him coupons for five free hugs.

Her step-brother is Manny Delgado. Claire received another sibling through Jay's second wife Gloria – Fulgencio "Joe". She often despises the attention that Gloria gets for her voluptuous figure, and was thrilled to learn that Gloria was pregnant because of all the weight that Gloria would be gaining.

Julie Bowen's performance was praised by Ken Tucker of Entertainment Weekly who said, "Bowen's Claire could have been a blank blonde cipher. Far from it: Bowen's wide array of silent gazes at the camera, her slow-burns at her clan's bad behavior, and her ability to freak out without seeming nutso crazy makes her an essential, stand-out part of TV's best freshman ensemble cast."[11]

Haley Gwendolyn Dunphy (Sarah Hyland) is the eldest daughter of Claire and Phil, who is portrayed as the stereotypical teenager.[12] Haley was born on December 10, 1993.[13] At the start of the series Haley is a high school sophomore, (we discover in episode 1.14 that Claire was four months pregnant with Haley when she married Phil). Haley is depicted as being a bit of a flirt, who focuses more on social status than studies. She is a little naive, especially when it comes to arguing with her parents.[12] However, she is at times surprisingly cunning, such as when she carves a cell phone out of soap to win a contest to see who can go the longest without using technology.

Sarah Hyland portrays Haley Dunphy, one of the daughters

Haley is embarrassed by her dad, especially when he tries to be friends with her boyfriend Dylan (to whom she lost her virginity, as revealed in season 3).[12] She is concerned about her popularity at school, as well as her social and sexual life, which contributes to her being embarrassed by her parents. Haley contemplated moving in with Dylan before learning that she got into college in the final episode of the third season. After a run-in with the law on campus in Season 4, she is expelled from college and moves back into the Dunphy home. She begins a fashion blog and goes to community college to study business and photography, eventually showing her photos in an exhibit at which she sells them. In season 6, she gets a job working for fashion designer Gavin Sinclair as his assistant, doing some of her own design work.

Throughout season 6, Haley develops feelings for Andy (Jay and Gloria's hired nanny) and they begin hanging out often. In the episode "White Christmas" Andy and Haley begin a relationship. At the end of season 7, Andy is offered a job in his hometown in Utah and initially turns it down, but Haley encourages him to pursue it, insisting that they will figure out a way to be together. As they say goodbye at the airport, she admits that Andy is the first man she has ever really loved. As of "Weathering Heights", she is dating weatherman Rainer Shine. Although they broke up later in the season after he proposed and they both realized they weren't ready.

Alexandra Anastasia "Alex" Dunphy (Ariel Winter) begins as the 13-year-old daughter of Claire and Phil and turns 17 in season five. Characteristically nerdy but still cute nonetheless, Alex is the most intelligent of the three siblings and a polar opposite of Haley. She is very bright and cares much more about her studies than friends/social life and boys.[14] As the middle child to a shallow big sister and a goofy younger brother, she enjoys messing with them.[14] Often taking advantage of their naïveté by fooling them into believing unrealistic things, she at one time convinced Haley and Luke that they could charge electronics by rubbing the battery on their heads (Haley) and putting it in their mouths (Luke).[12] She also convinced Luke that he was actually Phil's old girlfriend son and that Jay was dying.

Ariel Winter portrays Alex Dunphy, one of the daughters

Alex, as a stereotypical precocious kid, displays a sense of superiority due of her intelligence, constantly putting her accomplishments on display and demanding recognition for them. An overachiever, she plays the cello and practices lacrosse; she chose to play the cello because she would have a better chance at being in a university orchestra than if she played the violin as cellos are more in demand. While she has sometimes felt isolated from her peers (once sadly telling her parents "I have no friends"), she has a group of nerdy "fans" at school who idolize her. Haley sincerely tells her at one point she is smart and attractive in a successful effort to get Alex to give a light-hearted graduation speech instead of a harsh one (it worked well enough that Alex was invited to a post-ceremony party by her classmates). At the beginning of Season 3, she was in a long-distance relationship with a boy she met in Wyoming. Later in the season she went to her prom with a classmate who everyone but himself knows is gay.

It was established in the episode "Tableau Vivant" that Alex is a light sleeper, as she was surprisingly energetic when staying awake nearly a whole night thinking about her upcoming art project. The episode "Heart Broken" reveals that Alex has a case of hemophobia. In the second episode of season 5 onwards she started wearing new glasses. In season 6, Alex is currently seeking for the best college to enroll in and have a thought about getting away from her family for a while. While Alex was not accepted into Harvard, she was accepted into Caltech, where she has been attending since the start of season 7. She had to leave for a bit due to getting mono. She was seen to be dating Sanjay Patel until he broke up with her in "The Closet Case".

Lucas Philip "Luke" Dunphy (Nolan Gould) is Claire and Phil's rambunctious son, who is often doing his own thing.[15] He was named after his great-grandfather, Lucas (DeDe's father). At times, he can be a troublemaker, once shooting his sister with a toy gun and getting into a fight with Manny at school. Luke is playful, very innocent and does not always understand the repercussions of his actions, like most children; he once announced at a family gathering that his mom thought her dad's new wife was a "gold digger", although he had misheard it as "coal digger".[15]

Nolan Gould portrays Lucas Dunphy, the son

Luke is also thought to be a bit vacuous because of many questionable actions, such as getting his head stuck in the banister and jumping on the trampoline wearing only underwear and a box on his head.[15] Both parents agree that they "dropped the ball" in regard to raising Luke; Phil once tells Claire that he considers Luke to be their dumbest child (although he conceded to Claire's assertion that Haley was, in fact, dumber than Luke). A psychologist who evaluated him said his type of behavior was normal for someone with above-average intelligence; afterwards, Phil and Claire accidentally left a wandering Luke behind when they left the psychologist's office, but they ended up being impressed by how calmly he made his way back home (in a limo) and decided he would do just fine in life. Subsequent events have borne this out, as he only got into one college he applied to (and did so because Phil gave up some magic secrets to his former rival-turned-Dean of Admissions) but has become a well-paid social fixture at Jay's country club and shows he can use his connections to help his family. He is frequently seen playing a Nintendo 3DS. Throughout the series, he is often seen playing with Manny. Often, they do not just play, but develop plans, plots, and ploys. Being that Luke's birthday is November 28, it usually coincides with Thanksgiving.[16][17]

Jay Francis Pritchett (Ed O'Neill) is the father of Claire, Mitchell and Joe; husband of Gloria; maternal grandfather of Haley, Alex and Luke; adoptive grandfather of Lily; father-in-law of Phil and Cam; and step-father of Manny. He is the owner of a closet company and is presumably the wealthiest family member as well occasionally the chieftain of the family in many situations. Jay has a dry and sarcastic sense of humor. Like his son and daughter, Jay is generally more realistic, mild-mannered, and sensible than his partner, Gloria, who is unashamed of the fact Jay is many years her senior. A recurring plot involves Jay's relationship with his son Mitchell, which became more complicated due to Jay's reaction to Mitchell's sexual orientation. Humor and plot points are also derived from Jay's relationship with his son-in-law Phil; Jay often mistreats and antagonizes him despite Phil's constant attempts to gain Jay's approval. Nevertheless, Jay thinks very highly of Phil, despite their differences, and said so in Season 3.

Ed O'Neill portrays Jay Pritchett, the father of three, husband of his second wife Gloria, and step-father of one

Jay has several masculine character attributes including fondness for sports and model airplanes. Jay is shown also to occasionally be compassionate, showing affection for members of the extended family particularly to Manny, his step-son; their relationship seems to become more positive as the series progresses, eventually becoming a typical father-son relationship. In the finale of the third season it is revealed that Gloria is pregnant, but Jay does not know yet. In the first episode of the fourth season, Gloria tells Jay and he tells her that it's the greatest news he has heard. The baby was male, which relieved Jay because it says in the episode "Snip" that he was afraid of having a girl. Jay is a dog-lover. He sometimes goes overboard in treating his dog Stella as his favorite member of the family much to Gloria's chagrin, and Jay was extremely happy when he realized that Joe was not allergic to Stella, but to Gloria's face cream, in the episode "Rash Decisions". Jay is farsighted (hyperopia). Jay evidently served in the U.S. Navy during the Vietnam War. His birthday is April 1, as shown in the episode "Grill, Interrupted".

Gloria Maria Ramírez-Pritchett (Sofía Vergara), formerly Delgado and néeRamírez, is Jay's second wife and mother to Manny and Joe. She is from Barranquilla, a city in Colombia (as is Sofía Vergara herself). She is a very loving wife and mother.[19] At first, the family (specifically Claire) does not accept her because of her age difference to Jay. In the episode Coal Digger, Luke calls her a coal digger which is mocking when Claire called her a gold digger. The most frequent running gag involving the character is her mispronunciation of common English words and phrases, and Vergara confirmed that many of these mispronunciations are improvised.[20]

Sofía Vergara portrays Gloria Ramírez-Pritchett, wife of her second husband Jay, mother of two, and step-mother of two

Gloria often supports Manny when Jay tries to tell him to be less sensitive or hide his cultural background. However, she does occasionally display some odd parenting techniques. For example, when Manny was first born, she had wanted a daughter, and therefore for the first year of his life dressed him like one and told all her friends he was a girl. She later told Manny (after he found the pictures of himself like this) that the child in question was his "twin sister who died at the age of one." In the sixth episode of Season One, she chastizes Jay for forcing Manny to remove his poncho for school. When they get to the school to return the poncho and realize that Manny has a plan to play folk music to his classmates with his pan flute (which was inside the poncho), Gloria tells Jay to break the flute, saying in her interview that "the poncho by itself is fine. The poncho, plus the flute, plus the stupid dance? My son will die a virgin."

Gloria is a terrible driver, though she is oblivious to this. She is also very comfortable with death (on one occasion killing and beheading a rat with a shovel right before she left for church and leaving the head "as a warning to the other rats"), on account of a couple of her relatives being butchers.[19] She is an excellent markswoman, often just using one hand and never misses a shot, even saying to Manny that she could've unbuttoned his shirt if she wanted to with her gun (formerly Manny's BB gun). She has a very high tolerance for spicy food, and has perhaps the strongest religious views of any member of the family.[citation needed] She loves her family and spends a lot of time with Lily because of her fixation in having a daughter. Mitchell and Cameron asked her and Jay to become guardians of Lily if anything were to happen to them.

Gloria has something of a shady past. Doubts have also been raised as to her income: her only mentioned employment was as a hairdresser (and later as a taxi driver), and Claire, Jay's daughter, originally labeled Gloria as a "gold-digger" for marrying her wealthy father. It seems likely that Jay is her major source of income. However, in the Season 5 episode "A Hard Jay's Night", the hairshop where she used to work is shown, and it is clarified that Jay is indeed her current major source of income. In the final episode of Season 3, it was revealed that she is pregnant. Her newest son Fulgencio a.k.a. Joe was born in the Season 4 episode "Party Crasher". In the episode "Fifteen Percent" she reveals that she comes from a neighborhood of prostitutes after she said her neighborhood had a saying that "Love is just around the corner". The Hispanic American character of Gloria was based on the character of Angela in the 1991 Jim Jarmusch film Night on Earth, played by American actress Rosie Perez.[21] In season 6 Gloria officially became an American citizen.

Manuel Alberto "Manny" Delgado (Rico Rodriguez), Gloria's son from her first marriage to Javier, is very outgoing and not the least bit self-conscious,[22] although he has become somewhat self-conscious in Season 5. He is very intelligent, probably second after Alex, but much in a street smart way. He is also mature and intuitive for his age and is often shown doing adult-like things, such as having conversations with Claire about her marriage and kids, and drinking coffee. He even engaged in stock market business and briefly considered following in his biological father's footsteps by becoming a professional gambler.[22]

Manny has inherited his mother's passion for life (although he is terrified of butterflies), though Gloria has also said, "Manny is passionate, just like his father."[19] This causes Manny to be very romantic.[22] Manny is not afraid to take chances, leading him to ask out older girls, and develops a crush on his step-niece Haley, to whom he gave flowers on "Pilot" an even kissed in "Three Turkeys".[22] He idolizes his absentee father, often speaking about him in a positive light, even after being repeatedly disappointed by his father's broken promises. He plays for a football team, fences, and is a skilled chess player. He is often seen wearing or intending to wear his "burgundy dinner jacket." Manny was in the fifth grade in Season 1 , the ninth grade in Season 5 and attends his first year of college in Season 9. Manny and his step-nephew Luke are good friends who each admire the strengths of the other although they spend a lot of scheming against/fighting with each other as well.

Fulgencio Joseph "Joe" Pritchett is Gloria and Jay's son. Gloria announced she was pregnant with him in the final episode of season 3, his existence was revealed to the rest of the cast in the first episode of season 4, and he was born in "Party Crasher". Joe's christening took place in "Fulgencio". In the Season 5 episode "Spring-a-Ding-Fling", he begins walking. In episode "Larry's Wife" Gloria calls over the priest believing that there is evil in Joe. The priest does a blessing on Joe but leaves when Joe pick-pocketed the priest's wallet. Gloria returns the wallet and apologizes. Later in the Season 5 episode "And One to Grow On", it is Joe's birthday and Jay wants to reuse birthday decorations from Manny's birthday party the day before but Gloria refuses. In episode "Queer Eyes, Full Hearts", Manny's Spanish teacher teaches Joe to swim.

Stella (Brigitte) is the French bulldog of the Pritchett family, introduced in "Good Cop Bad Dog" (season 2, episode 22). She was the dog of a man named Guillermo (Lin-Manuel Miranda), an inventor, but when Jay convinced him to abandon his idea and return to school, Guillermo gave Stella to the family. She is very problematic, and often destroys things, mostly Gloria's belongings. However, Jay has a great affection for her (letting her sleep in his bed and feeding her from the dinner table), which infuriates Gloria because Jay seems to pay more love and attention to the dog than his own wife.

Jesse Tyler Ferguson portrays Mitchell Pritchett, Cameron's husband and father of one

Mitchell Vincent Pritchett (Jesse Tyler Ferguson), also referred to as Mitch, is Jay's son; Claire's younger brother, Gloria's step-son, Manny's step-brother, Joe's half-brother, Haley, Alex and Luke's uncle; one of Lily's fathers; and partner of eight years to Cameron.[24] He is a low-key, mild-mannered person, but has many sensitive qualities. At most times he is the exact opposite of Cameron which usually causes disagreements. Cameron acts as a counterbalance to Mitchell's uptight, worrying ways. Because of his mild-mannered, uptight nature, he is sometimes embarrassed by Cameron's flamboyance. He is uncomfortable with public displays of affection, as well as invasion of his personal space. He is an overprotective and cautious father. He is shown to be a capable lawyer, even representing an entire building full of people one-by-one with no prior notice.[25] A recurring theme on the show is Mitchell's relationship with his father, which was strained by the revelation of Mitchell's homosexuality. Mitchell is a musical theater fan and enjoyed ice skating as a kid, though he later admitted that he liked working with his sister as a team more than the ice skating itself. Although he fancies himself as a handyman, everybody is afraid of him around tools. From his degrees hanging in his office, it is apparent that Mitchell attended undergrad at Cornell University and law school at Columbia University.

TV.com has named Mitchell and Cameron one of the "Five Best TV Dads," saying, "Cam and Mitchell adopted baby Lily from Vietnam way back in Modern Family's pilot episode, and have been inadvertently Americanizing her ever since."[26]

Cameron Scott "Cam" Tucker (Eric Stonestreet),[27] also referred to as Cam, is Mitchell's husband of eight years, and one of Lily's fathers, who has a very big dramatic personality. He frequently behaves like a drama queen. His bubbly outgoing personality contrasts to Mitchell's uptight manner, which causes them to have opposing character traits.[28] Cameron was born on February 29, 1972 and grew up on a farm in Missouri. He was a starting center for the University of Illinois football team (which he and Jay bond over, much to Mitchell's envy) and is a very big sports fan.[28] Because of this, he is physically quite imposing, and capable of scaring off anyone who threatens Mitchell. Cameron also fosters many unusual hobbies such as collecting antique fountain pens, being adept in Japanese flower arrangement, and is a classically trained Auguste clown named Fizbo.[28] Cameron prides himself in shooting home films, not movies, and takes that role very seriously. Currently, he acts as a stay-at-home dad to Lily, though it is mentioned that he had taught music prior to this. Cameron is also an experienced rock drummer and as a result was brought in at the last minute to play in Dylan's band when they needed a replacement percussionist.

It is also mentioned that Cameron was considerably thinner and in better shape when he first started dating Mitchell. For the first few episodes, his relationship with Mitchell was somewhat strained (as they disagreed on almost everything and showed very different parenting techniques). But in more recent episodes the relationship is much happier.[28] Cameron and Mitchell met at one of Pepper Saltzman's "legendary" soirees, where during a game of charades, Cameron immediately knew the answer, "Casablanca," based on a subtle gesture Mitchell made with his hands. Common interests, like art, led them to form a relationship. Mitchell is impressed by Cameron's quirks, such as speaking French (to which Cameron replies, "un peu," or "a little"). Cameron is also said to be a fan of the movie The Wizard of Oz in the episode "Leap Day" when Mitchell plans him a surprise birthday party.[24]

During season 4, Cameron goes back to work as a music teacher at Luke and Manny's school. In season 5, his music teacher job is eliminated, but he becomes the freshman football coach and physical education teacher. In season 6, he is promoted to varsity coach and his undefeated record and open homosexuality earned him a story on the local TV news.

Eric Stonestreet has received positive reviews for his characters. In a review of the first season, Robert Canning of IGN named Cameron Tucker the best character of the season saying, "Cameron's many talents and passions revealed over the course of this first year became an ever-building running gag. But it will be hard to top the sheer joy that was 'Fizbo'." He also called Fizbo, the episode and the clown, the highlight of the season.[7] The reception of Cameron and Mitchell has led to the idea of a spin-off of the two titled Mitchell and Cam.[29]

Lillian Elizabeth "Lily" Tucker-Pritchett (Aubrey Anderson-Emmons) is the adoptive daughter of Cameron and Mitchell. She is named after the daughter of Charlotte from the HBO series Sex and the City, and Cam's pig "Aunt Lily". When she was introduced to the family, they accepted her with open arms, although Mitchell originally wanted to wait to tell them about her.[25] She is at times doing activities with both of her fathers but remains with Cam at home while Mitchell works.[28] Cameron often dresses her up as famous people, such as Diana Ross, Olivia Newton-John, Madonna, and Stevie Wonder for the purpose of taking photographs. Cameron and Mitchell practiced the Ferber method on Lily when she was a baby, but Cameron usually couldn't resist catering to her during the night, sometimes even watching movies such as Scarface, which Cam claims she likes possibly because of the bright colors, particularly the club shooting scene.

Lily did not speak for the first two seasons and was portrayed by twins Ella Hiller and Jaden Hiller. For season three, the twins "retired", their mother claiming they did not enjoy acting.[31] The role was recast to Aubrey Anderson-Emmons, who is older, and has a speaking role. Since she has been able to speak, Lily has displayed a penchant for precocious sarcasm and theatricality, which can be attributed to the influence from each of her fathers. She was born February 19, 2008.

DeDe Williams (Shelley Long) (formerly Pritchett) is Claire and Mitchell's mother, Haley, Alex and Luke's maternal grandmother, Lily's adoptive grandmother, Phil and Cam's mother-in-law and Jay's ex-wife. It has been implied that she may be mentally ill due to her somewhat manipulative and sometimes aggressive ways. It is implied that she was initially more accepting of Mitchell's sexual orientation than Jay was when he first came out. She often uses her close relationship with Mitchell to get him to do things he does not want to do. Jay wanted to divorce her after a spectacular fight they had while their kids were still in school (he taped over an episode of Dallas to record an NFL game that, ironically, featured the Dallas Cowboys) but was inspired by an animatronic Abraham Lincoln exhibit at Disneyland to stick things out until Claire and Mitchell reached adulthood. She is still bitter over Jay's remarriage to Gloria and even attempted to ruin their wedding, which she convinced Mitchell to talk Jay and Gloria into inviting her to; she got drunk and made rude and inappropriate toasts and eventually had to be dragged out of the reception, in the process ruining the wedding cake. She is very aggressive towards Gloria, often trying to physically attack her. DeDe is also passive aggressive toward Cameron about his weight, and is often critical of Claire, especially her appearance. She also seems to be very good friends with Manny as they write letters to each other talking about their personal issues. DeDe is also a famous author and poet. A running gag throughout the series is that DeDe's arrival is always forewarned by bad omens, (birds crashing into the window or peaceful scenarios spontaneously turning chaotic).

Her antagonistic and aggressive relationship to Gloria surprisingly changes in the episode "Arrested." When DeDe sees that Gloria is pregnant, she finds it so fantastic that her ex-husband is going to be a father again at his age. It also seemed to have fixed her uterus which she claimed was telescopic and they both bonded over Jay-bashing when DeDe tells Gloria that she was always the one having to change diapers, clean spit-up and getting baby equipment. Gloria was sympathetic explaining that it makes sense to why DeDe became so crazy to which DeDe answered "Right?".

Francis Allen "Frank" Dunphy (Fred Willard) is Phil's father and Haley, Alex, and Luke's paternal grandfather. On Christmas, the family shared a webcam chat with him.

Frank returns in "Travels with Scout" when he travels cross country without Phil's mother and shows up with a dog that he says she has allergies to. He ends up taking the dog back with him.[32][33] Frank is kind of a polar opposite of Jay's (Claire's father) grumpiness and dry manner, as he is seen being laid back, funny and cool most of the time. This is clearly mentioned by Claire in "Closet, You'll Love it !" when most family members refer to Jay as 'Grump-pa' while Frank is referred to as 'Fun-pa'. His attitude is a near carbon copy of Phil's personality. At the end of season 4, it is revealed that Frank's wife (Phil's mother) had died. In season 8, Frank starts dating Lorraine, Phil's childhood babysitter and crush. Later, he proposes to her and in episode 19, they get married.

Javier Delgado (Benjamin Bratt) is Manny's biological father and Gloria's ex-husband. He and Gloria were divorced; in the pilot, Gloria says all they did was "fight and make love," at one point leading them to fall out of a window. Manny looks up to him, but Javier always lets him down, while Jay is left downcast by the reminders that Manny has another dad. He is oddly gifted when it comes to betting on horse racing. In the episode "Flip Flop," he has a girlfriend named Trish (Paget Brewster) and almost marries her.

Barb Tucker (Celia Weston) is Cameron's mother. She first appeared in the episode "Mother Tucker." In that episode, she visits Cameron and Mitchell. While Cameron earnestly declares that his mother is wonderful, Mitchell is less sure because she has a habit of touching Mitchell inappropriately. When Mitchell finally tells Cameron about this, Barb happens to walk in on them and hears his complaints. Later, she apologizes to Mitchell. Unfortunately, she does this while he is in the bathtub. In "The Wedding, Part 1" and "The Wedding, Part 2", she attends her son's wedding to Mitchell and almost ends it with Merle, but Jay and Gloria manage to reconcile the two.

Donnie Pritchett (Jonathan Banks) is Jay's brother. He first appeared in the episode "The Musical Man" where he visits Jay and they soon start bickering and later Jay finds out he's suffering from cancer.

He attends Luke and Manny's musical and there he and Jay share an emotional moment together.

Merle Tucker (Barry Corbin) is Cameron's father. He first appeared in the episode "The Last Walt." In that episode, he visits Cameron and Mitchell. Later in the episode, it is revealed that Jay (Mitchell's father) and Merle dislike each other. Cameron and Mitchell each believe that their father is the stronger of the two. It is made known that Merle wishes that the man his son lives with was, "A little bit of a woman." Jay and Merle overcome their differences and bond while fixing the bed frame that Cameron had purchased and attempted to put together. In "The Wedding, Part 1" and "The Wedding, Part 2", he attends his son's wedding to Mitchell and almost ends it with Barb, but Jay and Gloria manage to reconcile the two.

Pilar Ramirez (Elizabeth Peña) is Gloria's mother. She first appeared in the episode "Fulgencio." In that episode, she and her other daughter Sonia visit Jay and Gloria shortly after their son Joe is born. She reveals that she never liked Jay and wants to name Joe after her husband and father (Fulgencio Umberto).

In "The Old Man & the Tree", she visits her daughter for Christmas and appears to treat Claire more as a daughter than Gloria after taking a liking to Claire.

Sonia Ramirez (Stephanie Beatriz) is Gloria's sister. She first appeared in the episode "Fulgencio." In that episode, she and her mother Pilar visit Jay and Gloria shortly after their son Joe is born. She appears to be wanting to get out of Colombia after a flood occurred there and later at Joe's christening, she and Gloria get into a fight over how Jay originally liked Sonia, not Gloria.

She returns in "Valentine's Day 4: Twisted Sister", she visits her sister and her family and tries to make a move on Jay, because she is still infatuated with him. She then tries to get Gloria out of the picture and when Jay tells Gloria, she doesn't believe him. Jay goes to his room to apologize to Sonia and then she tries to make a move on him there, only to be heard via a baby monitor and then Gloria enters and realizes Jay was right and the sisters resume fighting over him.

Pameron Jessica "Pam" Tucker (Dana Powell) is Cameron's older sister. In "Farm Strong", she comes for a visit from the farm and Mitchell and Cameron are afraid to tell her that they are getting married because they do not want to hurt her feelings of her still being single and because Cameron claims that Pam is very sensitive. Lily is the one who finally tells her. Pam seems extremely happy with the news and shares her own news with them; she is engaged to Cameron's first crush, Bo Johnson. Cameron gets really upset hearing that and Pam tells him that no one in the family wanted to tell him because he is too sensitive and they were protecting him, something that contradicts Cameron's earlier assertion and makes Cameron even more upset. When the whole family gathers at Jay and Gloria's house, Cameron wants to prove that he is not that sensitive as Pam accuses him to be and asks everyone to tell him things they were hiding from him because they were trying to protect him. Everyone says their part and Cameron, as much as he tries not to break down in tears, after hearing Lily admitting that she pretends to fall asleep when he reads to her so he can leave her alone, breaks down in tears and finishes locking himself in the bathroom. Mitchell and Pam go to comfort him, and Pam tells him that he may have difficulty with bad news, but everyone always wants to share good news with him because he would always appreciate it.

In "The Wedding (Part 1)" and "The Wedding (Part 2)", she has small cameos at Mitchell and Cameron's wedding.

In "Frank's wedding", she comes to visit and auditions for a modeling job. By the end of the episode, it is revealed that she is looking for jobs, so that she can better take care of herself, as she is revealed to be pregnant, which is hidden by her body and weight. She goes into labor at the house and has her baby.

Dylan Marshall (Reid Ewing), sometimes called "D-Money" by Phil, is Haley's on-and-off boyfriend, a senior in high school who plays guitar and sings in a band and has no plans for college. He is often put into awkward situations by Phil, who wishes for the two to be friends.[12] He has diverse interests that are often surprising, such as his love of old western films. He also sometimes reveals a sort-of attraction to Claire, when he gives her a rose on Valentine's Day, saying that "every mom should look as tasty as you when they're old." He also had a dream involving a (suggested) sexual encounter involving himself, Haley, and Claire. Claire strongly dislikes him, to the point of trying to introduce other boys to Haley just so that they break up or don't get back together. He loves the confidence Haley gets from being part of such a loving family and does not mind hanging around during family get togethers.[12] He wrote a song for Haley, "In the Moonlight (Do Me)", and performed it for her extended family. The song was about sex and most of the family were surprised by the suggestive lyrics, but it became stuck in all of their heads the next day. He is also a hockey player and finds inspiration for his music from Bob Dylan, Sum 41, Blink-182, and New Kids on the Block.

Dylan temporarily leaves the cast to work on a ranch after Haley rejects his marriage proposal in the first episode of season three, "Dude Ranch". In the episode "Virgin Territory", Alex reveals that Haley had lost her virginity to Dylan before they broke up; she told Claire three months earlier, but not Phil. In the episode "Disneyland," Dylan reveals he lost his job on the ranch and moved back to California, taking a job at Disneyland as a Dapper Dan. He and Haley get back together to Claire's dismay and to Phil's delight. In the season Finale, "Baby on Board," Haley discovers she was accepted to college. She and Dylan maintain their relationship, and Dylan lives with the Dunphys for a few months. In Season 4, Dylan is invited to move in with Cam and Mitch after his work as a limo driver led him to their Valentine's Day party (some of their friends invited Dylan to stay for the party, and Cam offered him at some point to stay at their house), but he ends up getting fired and, while Cam and Mitch separately tell him he can stick around, Lily angrily tells him he isn't welcome there and yells at him until he leaves the house. In season 8 he gets married to a doctor and has 3 kids much to Haley's dismay as she feels she lost her "romantic safety net".

Sal (Elizabeth Banks) is Mitch and Cameron's wild, partying, boozy friend from their younger years in the 1990s. In the episode "Great Expectations" she becomes very jealous of the attention Lily had been getting and threatens to kill her multiple times. In the episode "Best Men", she gets married and enlists Cam and Mitch to be the best men at the wedding. However, in the episode, "The Wedding (Part 1)" she tells them that she got divorced and she is obviously pregnant. Sal had declared herself the officiator of the wedding while Cam and Mitch were trying to have intervention about her drinking. In "The Wedding (Part 2)" Sal's water breaks in the middle of the (first) ceremony. She convinces her new boyfriend of four months (who believes he is the father) that when a baby comes so early, sometimes it is black.

It eventually transpires (in "Fight or Flight") that Sal's baby is white and she is raising the baby alone, having presumably split from the man she was seeing at the time of Mitch and Cameron's wedding. When Mitch, Cam, Pepper and friends throw her a baby shower, she is seen to be far more mature and responsible, due to the birth of her baby, despite everyone fearing the worst when she disappears in the middle of the party.

Sherman "Pepper" Saltzman (Nathan Lane) is one of Mitchell and Cameron's friends. Although he was referred to in the pilot episode and several times thereafter throughout the first season, Pepper first appeared on camera in the second season.

In "Earthquake", both Mitch and Cam hate going to Pepper's yearly party and they decide to try and skip it this time. Since an earthquake happened, they say that Mitch has a sprained ankle and that stuff is broken all over the house as an excuse. Really though, none of their stuff had got broken in the earthquake, but Pepper invited himself over to their house to help. Not long after Pepper comes in, he starts to feel bad because Mitch told him that he does not want to go to the parties because he gets jealous because of Pepper and Cam. He helps plan Mitchell and Cam's wedding.

In "Boys' Night", he hangs out with Mitch, Cam, Longines, Crispin and Jay on their "boys' night out".

In "Fight or Flight", he Mitch, Cam, Ronaldo, and Longines organize a belated baby shower for Sal.

In "I Don't Know How She Does It", he mentions his first name, Sherman, saying he has not used that name since he left Lubbock, Texas, decades ago.

Longines (Kevin Daniels) is a close friend of Mitchell Pritchett and Cameron Tucker's. Although he was first mentioned in the "Pilot", he made his first on-screen appearance in "Dance Dance Revelation". He sprays Phil with cologne on the face, and Phil, who is very upset, grabs the cologne bottle and goes off on Longines with about a dozen good spritzes to the face, even chasing him around the store.

In "Boys' Night", he hangs out with Mitch, Cam, Pepper, Crispin, and Jay on their "boys' night out".

In "Go Bullfrogs!", he invites Mitch and Cam to a boutique opening and they go along with Claire, as she needs a fun night out. Mitch and Cam soon leave the place leaving Claire with a man called Julian. Mitch and Cam believe that Julian is Longines' date, but Longines tells them via Mitch's cellphone that he's not his date, he's his trainer, and he's also straight.

In "Snip", after Mitch starts thinking that Cam has to search for a new job, Longines says that he has a vacant at his clothing store, and asks Cam if he wants the job. He finally accepts it, but a friend of Longines', Jeoux, calls out Mitch and Longines' devious plan of giving the job to Cam and he walks out very upset.

In "The Wedding (Part 1)" and "The Wedding (Part 2)", he attends Mitch and Cam's wedding.

Walt Kleezak (Philip Baker Hall) was Phil and Claire's next door neighbour. He first appeared in the episode "Boys' Night", where Luke goes over to his house to retrieve their ball which had flown into his yard. Phil and Claire find out and are not pleased with Luke because they feel that Walt is not very nice. They then go over to his house to interrogate him and he snaps at them and tells them to keep Luke. The next morning, Luke reprimands Walt for not being nice to his parents and they could not hang out. Walt then makes things up by generously giving Claire and Phil onions from his garden and tells them that he used to be a fireman, so he never hurts kids and he becomes friends with the Dunphys through his friendship with Luke.

In "Lifetime Supply", he comes over to the Dunphy house with Luke to play video games and upon entering tells Gloria to win a war some time and then they (Americans) would start talking like her. He then plays with Luke and beats him, due to Phil constantly staring at Luke. Phil asks Walt if he thinks about death and Walt replies that he's 85 and death is his roommate. He then leaves to go change his oxygen tank.

In "Election Day", he comes to attend Claire's election vote as Phil was given the task of driving 50 senior citizens to the polls to vote for Claire, but only managed to bring Walt and he kept needing things: his glasses, a new oxygen tank, food and to take his pills. This results in the polls closing and Phil gets only one extra vote for Claire instead of fifty.

In "The Last Walt", it was revealed that Walt died from a heart attack. Luke decided he want to inherit Walt's television which he does. It was also revealed that Walt had a daughter whom he became estranged from and he had never fixed his estrangement from her.

Ethan is the nephew of Bethenny, Claire Dunphy's friend, whom Claire invites to go to Disneyland with the family in "Disneyland". Claire invites him because she wants Haley to fall for him and completely get over Dylan, who had moved to Wyoming in "Dude Ranch". Haley, adamant that she wasn't going to babysit him, quickly changes her opinion after meeting him, much to Claire's delight. Much to Claire's chagrin, Dylan shows up at Disneyland completely unannounced. He rushes off after running into them, and Haley realizes that she still likes Dylan. So she ditches Ethan, leaving Alex with Ethan, another thing that Claire did not like. Ethan has a lot in common with Alex, possibly developing a crush on her. After seeing Dylan as a 'Dapper Dan', Haley ditches Dylan and begins talking to Ethan again, bumping Alex out the way. After some time, Dylan meets up with Ethan and Haley again in his Little John costume declaring his love for Haley. Ethan and Dylan get into a minor scuffle. At the end of the day, Haley eventually dumps Ethan, Ethan leaves with some friends he ran into, and Haley and Dylan get back together.

Gil Thorpe (Rob Riggle) is Southern California's most successful real estate agent and nemesis/arch-rival of Phil Dunphy. Phil is often seen on camera lamenting over constantly coming second to Gil in many real estate competitions. He is mentioned indirectly in "Not in My House," "Diamond in the Rough" and "Strangers on a Treadmill." He appears for the first time in character in the episode "Flip Flop", as he attempts to strike a deal for his buyer through Phil on the home renovated by Claire and Cam. He makes his second appearance on the show in the episode "Career Day", where he shows up for Career Day in Luke and Manny's class during Phil's presentation. Seeing Claire's visible frustration at being a housewife, he offers her a position on his real estate team. He is known for his energetic, lively, and harassing personality as well as his tendency to use his own name in replacement of words in conversation (e.g. "Thorpedoed," "Gil Pickles"). In the "Career Day" episode Gil mentioned he played quarterback at Texas Tech. It is revealed his daughter is a student in Luke and Manny's class. In "The Feud," he returns, beating Phil at a real estate contest, but Luke wrestles against Thorpe's son. Luke ends up losing to Gil's son in the wrestling match.

Andy Bailey[35] (Adam DeVine) is the Pritchetts' nanny for Joe. He is extremely friendly and cordial and refuses to use any sort of "bad language." Gloria took an immediate liking to Andy upon meeting him, but Jay disapproved of his overly nice nature, saying "He's a weird man. He's like Phil only I have to pay for him." He often butts heads with Haley as she is rude and breaks rules, and she makes fun of him for his overly amiable nature. He talks about his long-time girlfriend who is in the Coast Guard in Utah, but she breaks up with him in "The Wedding (Part 1)". Haley discovers that she has been keeping Andy "on the hook" for the last 7 years as they have been on-again off-again and she does not treat Andy the way he treats her. His father died of cancer when he was 14, as explained in "The Help". Haley begins to appreciate Andy's demeanor and treatment of women in "Other People's Children" and tries to perhaps start a relationship with him in the episodes "The Wedding (Part 1)" and "The Wedding (Part 2)". However, Alex convinces Haley that she is not that into him and she stops her pursuit as Andy was ready to jump into it. Afterwards, Andy drives away, perhaps to his flight to see his ex-girlfriend. Andy also becomes a quick friend to the Dunphy family.

In the Season 6 episode "The Cold", Andy and Haley discuss their relationship. They agree that it's better they stay friends, however Haley gets upset when Andy claims that if they had kissed she wouldn't be able to get over him. To try to prove him wrong, Haley kisses him. Andy is unaffected by this but Haley has a smitten look afterwards. In the episode "Queer Eyes, Full Hearts", Haley helps Andy get a job as Phil's assistant and Andy helps her prepare for an interview with a fashion designer. During the episode they seem completely platonic and it is also revealed that Andy is back together with Beth. In "Rash Decisions", Luke becomes distant from Phil and Andy becomes his right-hand man. In the episode "Connection Lost", Claire assumes by mistake that Haley and Andy had gotten married. In "Closet? You'll Love It!", Andy ends up at the hospital due to appendicitis which had Haley worried enough to visit him but arrived to him a bit too groggy with the drugs the doctors had given him, leading her to tell his sleeping form that he had a shot with her, unbeknownst to Haley that he had heard everything she said.[36] Andy decides to talk to her about her hospital visit in "Grill, Interrupted", but Haley's new boyfriend interrupts them before Andy could bring it up. At the end of the episode, Haley mentions to Andy that she wasn't looking for a serious relationship at the moment, which appeared to disappoint him. In the Season 6 finale "American Skyper", Andy reveals to Phil that he already had the engagement ring that he had been saving up for, but is hesitant to propose to Beth because he's still confused about the feelings he has for someone else. Phil advises him to propose to Beth, but later finds out that Andy had feeling's for Haley, who was also in love with Andy. The episode ends with Phil attempting to tell Andy and Haley that they loved each other, but failing to do so, as Andy leaves the house to propose to Beth at a beach he liked. As of "White Christmas" in Season 7 Andy and Haley are in a relationship. In season 8, he and Haley broke up because of a long distance relationship.[37]

Rhonda is a friend of Luke and Manny. In "iSpy", she, Luke, Manny and some other friends of theirs (mostly boys) make a movie about zombies.

In "Spring-a-Ding-Fling", Luke has a date with Rhonda for the spring dance in their High School. Claire wants to help him to score with her, so she helps Rhonda to dress more like a girl and be beautiful, as she always wears very dirty and manly clothes. Luke is not really happy with that because he preferred her the way she was and asks Claire to "fix" her. However, the two are later seen dancing together, so he may really like the new Rhonda.

Earl Chambers (Jon Polito, then Robert Costanzo) is Jay's former best friend and longtime enemy. Many years before the events of "Won't You Be Our Neighbor," Earl and Jay worked together. They had formed their closet company, Closet-fornia, and the business became successful. One day, Jay came into work and Earl's desk had been cleared out. He had badmouthed Jay to half their rolodex, and Jay had to start all over. In the present, it turns out Manny met Earl's granddaughter Sophie in his theater group and she is now his new girlfriend. This makes Jay mad when, after showing a new idea of his for work, he finds out that his rival is her grandfather.

Gloria organizes a dinner for the two men so they can work things out, but they soon start disputing again. Earl is also angered to hear that his granddaughter is groping his rival's stepson.

Earl goes to Jay and Gloria's house because he thinks the rivalry between him and Jay is getting way out of control, and wants to do something to work it out. Manny then enters and introduces himself; Earl asks if this is "the stud who's been groping [his] Sophie," and Manny tries to assure him that there's nothing untoward between Manny and Sophie. Earl laughs and tells Manny he "believes" him (maybe, maybe not). Earl sees the box that Jay had shown earlier to Manny, Gloria, and Sophie, and Earl says he thinks he'll call it the Sock 'n Roll, takes the box and leaves. Jay shouts at him "The hell you are!"

Earl reappears in "The Closet Case" where Mitchell has been called to work for him in a consultant job. Earl tricks Mitchell into thinking that Earl wants to bury the hatchet with Jay. A van pulls up in front of Jay's house and Jay sees what has happened. That night, Jay and Mitchell break into Earl's office and Earl catches them; Mitchell is disgusted at Earl for tricking him. Earl and Jay start fighting again and later in Jay's car, Mitchell returns his father's old rolodex to him. This gesture makes Jay very happy; Mitchell snuck it out of Earl's office while he and Jay had their ten-minute fight.

Earl reappears in "The Cover-Up" where it turns out that he is leaving horrible comments on Jay's new webshow. Jay and Manny track Earl down to his house and, with help from Alex, find out that he's the one doing it. After a brief fight, Earl suggests that he and Jay could make their collective show, to which Jay refuses. Earl decides to make his own show instead, and deactivates comments – much to Jay’s wrath – so Jay won’t be able to troll him back.

Earl briefly reappears in "Halloween 4: The Revenge of Rod Skyhook" (now played by Robert Costanzo, because Jon Polito died), dressed as the Devil. He fights with Jay, who is dressed as Jesus and who asked Manny to steal a picture from Earl's mansion. The two start fighting until Jay looks at his reflection in the mirror and gives up on trying to take the picture.

Ronnie LaFontaine (Steve Zahn) is a man who moves next door to the Dunphys with his wife, Amber and their children, Ronnie Jr. And Tammy. He and his wife both turn out to be loud and obnoxious and the Dunphys dislike them. Their rivalry soon ends in "Knock 'Em Down" when they share a mutual dislike of a pornographic statue in their neighborhood and they soon go out to dinner and we find out that the Dunphys and the LaFontaines have many things in common and later that same night they are drinking wine together in their neighborhood.

Amber LaFontaine (Andrea Anders) is a woman who moves next door to the Dunphys with her husband, Ronnie and their children, Ronnie Jr. And Tammy. She and her husband both turn out to be loud and obnoxious and the Dunphys dislike them. Their rivalry went from their first meeting until the episode "Knock 'Em Down" when they share a mutual dislike of a pornographic statue in their neighborhood and they soon go out to dinner and we find out that the Dunphys and the LaFontaines have many things in common and later that same night they are drinking wine together in their neighborhood.

Ronnie LaFontaine (Finneas O'Connell) is the son of Ronnie and Amber LaFontaine and the brother of Tammy LaFontaine. They move in next door to the Dunphys. He likes to play music, plays a drum kit and is currently studying in New York.

Tammy LaFontaine (Brooke Sorenson) is the daughter of Ronnie and Amber LaFontaine and the sister of Ronnie LaFontaine Jr. In "The Big Guns", Luke develops a crush on Tammy; every time he tries to flirt with her, however, she insults him and blows him off. In the end of the episode, Luke passes Tammy without even glancing at her and pretends he no longer cares about her, which bothers Tammy enough that she wants him to come back and talk to her, and it turns out Alex gave Luke this advice.

Beth (Laura Ashley Samuels) is Andy's ex-fiancée. She was first seen in Closet? You'll Love It! where she visited Andy in the hospital. She reappeared in "American Skyper" where she seems to have been responsible for setting Haley's hair on fire and was last seen in Summer Lovin where she makes a cameo and she and Andy walk in the park and he proposes to her and she accepts... thus, they become engaged and are being watched by Haley and Claire. She reappeared in "The More You Ignore Me" where she and Andy meet Haley and Dylan at the movies and in "White Christmas" she comes to the cabin where the family is with Andy and she admits to him that she has been cheating on him behind his back and it looks like they end things.

Sanjay Patel (Suraj Partha) is Alex's former academic rival and ex-boyfriend. While they had still been at school, Alex and Sanjay had been competing against each other nonstop. Sanjay had only been mentioned in "Our Children, Ourselves", "See You Next Fall", "Career Day", "Under Pressure", "Sleeper", and "Integrity". He eventually made his first appearance in "Patriot Games" where he and Alex were tied in first position and only didn't have gym grades completed. Principal Brown organized a race for the two and the one who did fours laps first wins. Sanjay goes to Alex's house and tells her that he likes her and that she is the reason he can attend Stanford University because she was always pushing him to study more and become better. But when the race happens, Sanjay forfeits it to prove to Alex that he was telling the truth and the two of them end up in a passionate kiss in front of their parents, much to their delight except Sanjay's mother, Nina. Sanjay and Alex are eventually named co-valedictorians of 2015.

Sanjay reappears in "Summer Lovin'" and he and Alex are now dating. They go up to Alex's room after he asks her to test him on the periodic table and later they would break up when Sanjay leaves for school, but in the end they decide against it. However, in "The Closet Case", Alex reveals that Sanjay broke up with her because he is seeing someone new.

^In an episode from the second season that aired in 2011, Claire and Mitchell recalled a childhood incident that occurred twenty years prior, and later said that their parents divorced "twelve years later". With this information, twenty years prior to 2011 is 1991, and twelve years after that is 2003. In the third season, Jay comments that he and DeDe were married for thirty-five years.

^Pinto, Rochelle (November 17, 2011). "Up close and personal with Sofia Vergara". hindustantimes.com. Archived from the original on August 25, 2013. Retrieved August 19, 2013. Vergara is also one of the few actors who get to improvise with the writers' permission. "I was worried in the beginning, thinking 'How will they know how a Latin woman thinks?' But now they even write my mispronunciations. The script will say (Gloria says something in Spanish) and then I'll just say whatever I think is funny."